Fearless Knitting 101 - Beginning Knittng

File Under Helpful

ninaclock — Mon, 05 Mar 2007 05:12:58 -0800

courtesy of Card Catalog Generator at blyberg.net

As a knitting teacher, I often go home from class and send my students emails with internet resources that I hope will help them reinforce the skills we learned in class. I am sure I will be referring students to this site often, which is why I reccomend you add this site to your knitting bookmarks: let me explainKnit.

Sara's blog is subtitled "Sara's blog for explaining knitting things." Her posts are detailed and thoughtful explanations of some of the more confusing and/or difficult knitting techniques, such as double pointed needles, twisted stitches, chart reading, and much more. The site does not include pictures to demonstrate what Sara talks about, but if you are a verbal learner this is a most excellent resource.

Swatch

ninaclock — Thu, 01 Mar 2007 05:31:32 -0800

"Swatch this!" by swisskiltbear

A new, free, and volunteer resource for knitters has begun: The Walker Treasury Project. The website seeks to create a companion resource to Barbara Walker's stitch dictionaries by collecting and displaying new color photographs of all the stitch patterns in her treasury collections.

You've probably heard about this project already when Brenda Dayne talked about it, or maybe at Craftzine, or even Lime and Violet. And I know that. I just couldn't resist an excellent pun! (Get it? Swatch? !!)

Tribute Exhibit to Elizabeth Zimmerman

ninaclock — Fri, 08 Dec 2006 01:45:42 -0800

image from Wisconsin State Journal

The Wisonson State Journal wrote an excellent overview of University of Wisconsin Madison's exhibit on Elizabeth Zimmerman. The article included a short biography of the mother of modern knitting as well as a great description of the exhibit itself.

"New School Knitting: The Influence of Elizabeth Zimmermann and Schoolhouse Press" runs through December 17, 2006 in the Design Gallery at The School of Human Ecology, UW-Madison. The gallery is even having a knitting night every Thursday while the exhibit is up from 7 to 9 pm.

Rug Problems

ninaclock — Thu, 07 Dec 2006 00:21:05 -0800

Setbacks seem to be my middle name these days. I have a big ball of i-cord that I'm just itching to turn into a rug to compliment this woven one I made a while ago.

I consulted The Knitted Rug by Donna Druchunas. The instructions for the "Coiled Cord Oval Rug" called to use a whipstitch on the wrong side to hold the i-cord together making sure to make sure that the cord doesn't twist. I've done that and it's puckering! The bigger it gets, the more it puckers.

Even though I've already spent many hours working on this, I think it's time to rip out the whipstitching and try another technique. I really think the effort will be worth it, though. Any suggestions?

Passable Headband

ninaclock — Wed, 29 Nov 2006 03:11:21 -0800

I got a bad haircut that looks a little better with hats and headbands. I like both, but don't have enough of the latter. So I thought I'd make some up.

This is a design in progress. I plan on making several continually-improving versions while my hair grows out. But I thought I share the process with all of you.

I started with some handspun I had laying around. 84 yards of a two ply handspun to be exact. I think the white portions are merino and the blue is a merino/tencel blend, but I could be wrong.

Consulting my WPI (wraps per inch) tool told me that I had a yarn averageing 9 wpi. My handy chart informed me that this translated into an appropriate needle size of US 9. (By the way, if you are ever working with unidentified yarn of any kind, a WPI tool is an excellent thing to have on hand. I highly reccomend haivng one.)

Into a ball the yarn went. Knitting commenced and voila I had a headband.

This is merely a passable headband. It is stockinette, which means it rolls unless you steam block the hell out of it.

Passable Headband
copyright ninaclock designs 2006

Gauge: 5 sts per inch
Needles: US 9 dpns

- cast on 2 sts
- knit 9 inches of i-cord
- P1, M1, P1
- K row
- P1, M1, P1, M1, P1
- K row
- P1, M1, P3, M1, P1
- K row
- P1, M1, P5, M1, P1
- K in stockinette stitches until piece mearsures 13 inches from 1st increase
- K1, ssk, K4, K2tog, K1
- P row
- K1, ssk, K2, K2tog, K1
- P row
- K1, K3tog, K1
- P row
- K2tog, K1
- knit 9 inches of i-cord
- bind off all sts

It's a merely passable headband. A non-curling fabric and a smaller gauge would go a long way to improving it. But sometimes when I design I just have to start. Actually, I think this headband design is actually going to morph into a hat. We'll see!

Knitting Portuguese Style

ninaclock — Mon, 23 Oct 2006 01:08:25 -0700

I had never even heard of the portuguese style of knitting until I read about it at Needle Exchange.

From the looks of it, this will produce the same looking stockingette stitch fabric that you would get from knittng continental or english method. The big difference appears to be that knits and purls both happen at the front of the work making the motions of knitting much smoother and perhaps faster. I hate knitting ribbings because you're constantly moving the yarn from front to back slowing down the actual knitting considerabley, which makes this method very appealing.

There Are Limits

ninaclock — Tue, 12 Sep 2006 01:24:58 -0700

As much as I hate to admit it, knitting cannot solve all of the world's problems. Some solutions require even the most dedicated knitter to put down her needles for a little while.

I have found this particularly true when it comes to the area of wearable craft. As versitile as hand-knitted fabric is, it does not make a very flattering pair of custom pants. Nor do unfelted knit fabrics make great bags for carrying heavy loads. These are facts of knitting. You don't have to like them, but if you are to create sucessful projects you must respect them.

For instance, I've gotten a lot of positive feedback on my Flower Box Tote pattern,

but the bag would be completely useless had I relied on knitting alone. Thin cabled panels have a tendency to curl in on themselves and the soft, unbelievabley wonderful Premiere yarn is a cotton/tencel blend that has a medium drape and does not hold it's shape without help of seams at the top (say at the shoulder a sweater) which my bag design made impossible. I needed to incorporate a little bit of stiff *something* into the bag that would still be soft but add the stability the bag needed to remain vertical. Lining the bag with woven fabric was really my only practical option. The inside of the bag needed some kind of lining to hide all of the seams from the sewing together of the panels and a matching fabric and heavy fusible interfacing add the needed stiffness whithout adding bulk or too much rigidity to the piece. I really don't think I had a better option. And the results, I think I rather pleasing.

My point:
Don't ask knitting to do more than it's capable. Knitting has limits, respect them and you will be much happier with your creations.

Should I Feel Guilty?

ninaclock — Fri, 08 Sep 2006 05:31:58 -0700

I have to admit something. I care if people read my blog. I know I really shouldn't. I should write because I love writing about knitting. And I do! But I also like knowing that someone is gaining something from my labor. Therefore, I must confess that I look at the stats. Often. And I track back to the links where certain readers come from, namely search engines, to see how they ended up visiting me.

Now, I won't go into the boring details, but I have noticed a dramatic rise in the number of people finding their way to FK101 via search engine results for the phrase "knitting 101".

My goal has always been to keep FK101 as a mainly informative blog. Not a WIP (works in progress) or personal journal. I want to explore new ideas in the world of knitting, vent my opinions, share my teaching experiences, and inspire people to knit with creative ferocity. I know I don't always succeed. The occasional gratuitous photo of my cats does sneak in. However, on the whole I try to keep my posts in line with my stated goals.

What worries me is that those of you who find your way here via a search for "knitting 101" may not be getting what you expect. On search pages FK101 is couched between titles like "Socks 101" and "Knitting 101" which teach you the beginning basics of knitting or a certain technique (like socks). And though I do cover beginning knitting subjects like how to choose your needles and the basic six knitting skills every knitter should master, these posts are few and far between. There are so many good sites out there that already cover "how to make a knit stitch" etc. that I just don't feel the need to reinvent the wheel when it comes to very beginning knitting information.

So, should I feel guilty? Are those of you who end up here via these "knitting 101" searches satisfied with what you find? I'm not promising I'll change my blog name or anything, but I'd like to know. Given my stated goals I hate the thought of you coming here and finding nothing of value.

Choosing Your Knitting Needles

ninaclock — Mon, 21 Aug 2006 05:17:52 -0700

i wrote this article quite some time ago. i give it to you in it's original form...enjoy..

The question of the day is needles. What are the best? I cannot stress this enough: THERE IS NO BEST; THERE IS ONLY PREFERENCE! Choosing needles is all about the individual knitter. If anyone tries to bully you into their preference, smack em! No, don’t do that, but immediately identify them as what I like to call a “Knitting Nazi” and treat them as the lunatic that they are. I have found that the best way to deal with Knitting Nazi’s (KN’s) is to simply smile and nod and then do whatever you please. In the area of knitting needles it has been my experience that KN’s believe that you must live and die by the circular needle¹. But don’t fear, they have no idea what they’re talking about.

There are three categories that affect knitting needle choice: Type, Material, and Length. And one implied category: Price.

Price
Of course, the price is usually the first decision made for the average knitter. Luxury needles are obviously more expensive and are not as often discussed as regularly priced needles. Luxury needles are either made of rare woods like rosewood or ebony or they are no longer in production, like bone antique needles. Either way, expect to pay a whole lot more for a luxury needle. Though you may find your preference is for the crème de la crème of knitting needles most knitters find that there is a non-luxury type of needle that suits them just fine.

Type

Straight needles are what most people in the US would consider the “typical” or “traditional” knitting needle. They have one pointed end and the other end is capped off². Straight needles can only be used for flat knitting (you must knit one row and purl the next to create stockinette stitch). Since most US patterns are knit flat and then sewn together, usually having straight needles is not a hindrance. However, there are techniques and patterns that cannot be accomplished using straight needles including circular knitting (knitting continuously to create a seamless tube of fabric, where stockinette stitch is achieved by knitting every round), traditional garment constructions (like English Ganseys), and I-cord.

As I mentioned earlier, the KN’s choice of needle is most often the circular. Though I personally prefer straight needles to circular, there are some good reasons that many people love their circ’s. First of all, circular needles can be used to knit flat, just like straight needles, but they can also knit in the round (a.k.a. circular knitting). However, there are limits to the circular needle’s ability to knit in the round that we’ll discuss below. The cord that tethers the two ends of a circular needle together is useful to some knitters, especially those working on large, heavy projects. The cord allows the majority of the project’s weight to fall on the knitter’s lap instead of pulling on the end of the needle and causing wrist strain. Circular needles are also easier to travel with than their counterparts. The flexibility of the cord allows them to be tucked in a knitting bag without poking through the sides. There are some other claims regarding circulars that are unsubstantiated, as far as I know, but still deserve consideration. Some people claim that they are able to knit faster on circular needles while others claim that a looser gauge is created using a circ (that is, if two swatches of the same number of stitches and rows are knit, then the swatch knit on circulars will be larger and more loose). I think it’s possible, but suspect these changes from straight to circ vary from knitter to knitter. Also, circular needles cannot knit I-cord.

The third knitting needle option is the double pointed needle (dpn). Double pointed needles are the low-tech version of the circular needle. Before technology made the connecting cable between two needles possible, knitters created a circle using three or four needles³. However, many knitters find this method of circular knitting to be too complicated and slow. Promoters of double points (like me!) love the rhythm created knitting from needle to needle as well as their versatility. Dpn’s can be used for flat knitting, for all circular knitting, and to make I-cord.

Length
Sometimes length matters and sometimes it doesn’t⁴. Before you can make an educated choice about the appropriate length of your needle, you need to have some basic knowledge of the physics of knitting. It’s pretty simple. Stitches on the needle take up about a third less space than the stitches in knitted fabric. There you go. If you don’t believe me, cast on twenty stitches onto a needle and knit a few rows. Look at the width of the knitted fabric. Now squish all of the stitches on your needle together. See how little space each of those individual little loops of yarn takes up? You’ve learned something!

In flat knitting (ie using circulars or straight needles and occasionally dpn’s), you must make sure that your needles are long enough to keep the maximum number of stitches on the needle. Usually you can estimate the minimum needle length necessary by finding the widest measurement given in the pattern subtract about a third of length. That’s “One Third Method” and my rule of thumb. You try it out and see what works for you. I’m no KZ.

When knitting in the round on circular needles estimating the proper length of needle can be a bit tricky. Though stitches squish and can be pack pretty tightly in a small space, the opposite is not true. Stitches don’t like to be stretched too far. Therefore, if you try to knit in the round on a circular needle that is too large for the circumference of the section of the garment you’re knitting then the stitches will be pulled too far apart and you will not be able to continue moving them around your cord⁵. I, again, suggest using the One Third Method to find the maximum and minimum length of needle to use.

In my opinion the biggest drawback of the circular needle is expense. Any significant change in circumference in the garment requires a different length circular needle. That means that in on sweater you will probably need to invest in at least four sets of needles just to complete the project. A smaller size needle to complete the ribbing on the bottom edge of the body, the same length but larger size needle for the body of the sweater, the same size but smaller length for the sleeves, and a set of double pointed needles in the smaller size too for the cuffs. “What! Dpn’s for a circular project?” you ask. Yep. That’s right. Circulars only can go so far before even the most dedicated KN is forced to pick up a set of double pointed needles. That stretching principle is the key to the problem. There are some circumferences, like when your knitting in the round with only five stitches, that are simply too small for any length of circular. Double pointed needles can but used to knit in the round for as few as 3 stitches to as large as you imagine. This is because you don’t have to use the entire length of each dpn while knitting the round. You do have to use the entire length of the cable of a circ. This concept is hard to explain, so you can take my word for it or you can get out/borrow/buy a pair of dpn’s and a pair of circs. Cast on and start knitting in the round on each set whatever number of stitches strikes your fancy. Now start decreasing a couple of stitches per round. See how as the number of stitches gets smaller on your circs the stitches start to stretch? Eventually they won’t stretch anymore and you’ll be stuck. On you double pointed knitting you don’t have that problem do you, you just move the stitched down the needle so that you can knit them easily and then slide them back to the center of the needle to keep them stable afterwards. Dpn’s save the day!

Length is barely important when discussing double points because if you need more or less length to accommodate a larger or smaller circumference you can simply add or subtract needles. To knit in the round you must have a minimum of four needles, three to create your “circle” and one to knit with. Length only becomes important in two rare cases: extremely large circumferences and flat knitting. Technically speaking, it is possible to knit an extremely large project in the round on fairly small dpn’s by adding more and more needles. However, you can quickly see how impractical this procedure would be. If you are dealing with a large circumference you either need to invest in extremely long dpn’s or use a circular needle. Though they are rare to find these days, over 12” long double points do exist and they have a long history of use especially in the Gansey sweater knitting of the British Isles. And when your using dpn’s for flat knitting, simply pretend that they are straight needles and choose your length using the same method.

Materials
So finally we get to talk about the most fun part of choosing knitting needles, the material! Here are a list of all the materials I know knitting needles are currently made of: plastic, wood, and metal. Short, but not so simple. There is more variation than you may be aware of. Plastics can be broken down into your Tupperware variety (like Pony Pearls) and your caseinate versions (Swallow and Bryspun). Wood needles are most often sold in bamboo (Takumi), birch (Brittany), rosewood (Lantern Moon), and ebony (Susanne’s). Metal needles come in several forms too including coated (Susan Bated), and anodized (Boye).

The term to know when discussing the material makeup of knitting needles is warmth. When knitters talk about a needle being warm they are referring to whether or not the needle feels and stays cool to the touch. It’s a completely subjective description, but an important one. Your hands are your tools and the more you use them, the more aware you will be of the outside elements that affect their condition and performance. Plastic and wood tend to be described as warm whereas metal needles are always described as cold.

The texture of these materials also plays a role in preference. Metal needles tend to be quite slippery and they are loud while knitting. Wood needles have a grain and create a little friction while knitting. Plastics range from slippery to graining in texture depending on the brand. Some people like slippery for speed. Some prefer a little friction. Only trying them all will help you determine what texture and materials are best for your knitting.

Exploring Your Options
I’m going to say now is pretty intuitive, but should be said nonetheless. Just like restaurants knitting needles vary greatly from company to company. Each have distinctive features that set them apart and the quality of product does vary. Chances are that as you explore all of the kinds of knitting needles you will encounter a lot of different brands. Chances are you will settle on one or two that you’ll prefer for various reasons. Maybe price, availability, warmth, the shaping of the needle tip, durability, or attractiveness curious toddlers. These reasons and so many more are perfectly valid ways to make final buying decisions about your knitting needles. Don’t be bullied by KN’s; their preferences are often based of sound reasoning, but they don’t know everything. Give all the options available to you a try and then decide for yourself. ⁶

¹For you very new knitters. A circular needle looks like this: http://www.skacelknitting.com/12-inch-circular-addi.jpg
This image is of an Addi Turbo circular needle by Skacel. KN’s tend to prefer this brand because the join between the cord and the needle is smoother so yarn doesn’t get snagged as it is pushed up onto the needle. They also tend to like the short length of the Turbo’s tip claiming it makes knitting more fast. Keep on reading above for more information about the pro’s and con’s of the circular needle.

²The top picture is of straight knitting needles by Brittany: http://www.brittanyneedles.com/bkhook.html

³For a visual aid go here: http://www.wonderful-things.com/newknit12.htm

⁴Is that profound or dirty?

⁵There are ways around the dilemma of a circular needle that is too long for the circumference of an object knit in the round. However, my experience is that these methods (the magic loop is the best known) are tricky and more time consuming than they are worth. Most knitters seem to find it much easier to just go out and buy the correct length of needle.

⁶Another short and sweet article on knitting needle selection:
http://www.knittersreview.com/article.asp?article=/review/profile/010405_a.asp

Teaching yourself to Knit

ninaclock — Sat, 29 Jul 2006 10:49:36 -0700

If you are teaching yourself to knit, I highly reccomend investing in a knitting encyclopedia. Don't depend on a beginning knitting book or even a beginning project book to get your through.

My opinion has been confirmed recently as I have been teaching myself to sew. I do much better learning from books than I do from classes or even one-on-one instruction with a teacher. Don't know why, but I know I'm not alone. At a used bookstore I picked up a 20 year old sewing encyclopedia for a few bucks. As I have been slowly graduating to more and more difficult projects, this thick book has been a God-send. At first it seemed overwhelming and more complicated than I was prepared for. However, I've found that using this fairly complete resource has saved my butt on several occasions. Including today as I set in my very first zipper into a pants pattern that originally did not have a zipper included.

The same is true for knitting. Just like in sewing you are often faced with new techniques that often are confusing in the instructions and sometimes you just need to make choices. An encyclopedic book of techniques is your best resource to understand techniques and get the information you need to make choices in your knitting.